Security and Icons Issue

OK. Been testing the security on this PC using some testing software from a trustworthy site on the internet, and this small problem occurred.

Setup: I ran the tests, one at a time, and, as each of the tests ran, I would get pop ups from the firewall and sometimes from the a-v.

Problem: For the tests flagged by the a-v (360 TS), I was getting warnings of numerous threats at a time (all associated with the tests). So there was an option to heal, which I chose, I guess because I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to trust the test software or not. Anyway, all the test programs were automatically disabled and then removed during boot by the a-v. That wasn't a big deal, because, after the programs were disabled, I had actually been trying to remove them myself but could not. I guess that was because 360 TS was registered as "using the folders/files".

Anyway, it seems that caught in the crossfire were some programs from PortableApps (located on the backup (D) drive). Basically, what happened there for some programs was that icons (shortcut links) on the Task Bar and on the Start Menu went blank (and one on the desktop too). The shortcuts would still work, but it's looks pretty ugly that way. Well, there was more going on with the PA folder during boot, too. It seems some programs just magically disappeared from the PA folder during boot, while others were untouched. The removed ones (2 or 3 three) were apparently somehow nuked and removed. No big deal as its very easy to redownload programs with PA, but I wonder why it wasn't all of them. But then there is the 3rd type with the suddenly torn paper icon.

It's so strange to me, because I did find a workaround for the ugly icons, which involves creating a shortcut and then changing its default icon to a different than expected one (there were versions of the same icon in each program). Now the shortcuts work. No idea why. I looked at permissions and everything else, but, if I change back to the normal icon, icon goes blank on Task Bar and in Start Menu.

Anyway, now I am curious how to get the shortcuts to function with the normal icon. I don't really care, but it is a strange thing. I looked over the "File Protection" and "Behavior Blocking" in 360 TS, and I checked the Quarantine, and I can't find a single reference to PortableApps or any of the apps in the folder. I guess maybe it's a strange random thing.

 

You most likely just need to rebuild the icon cache.
For Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 refer to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/49819-icon-cache-rebuild.html